5.0 out of 5 stars
Trust No One, but Revel in the Mystery
Reviewed by Michael P. Hartnett in the
United States on November 19, 2023
Donan Berg’s All’s Forgiven is one of those wild mysteries that keeps the reader guessing to the very end. Much of the lively engagement of constantly shifting suspicions comes from the novel centering on the viewpoint of Jenny Olsen, who’s a bit loopy and is recovering from an accident that also led to the death of her niece Eileen. Jenny is often uncertain and the reader more so. I can never fully trust her intense, emotional sister Ruth, her gruff Uncle John, the police officer and possible love interest Robert, and the urbane, mysterious professor Holmes, who also might be another love interest. The plot involving that niece’s death, car accidents, a valuable brooch from Queen Elizabeth’s inauguration, and, most importantly, the kidnapping of Jenny’s mother percolates along with amusing interactions and disarming twists.
The novel is filled with gothic elements, including the mysterious basements at home and at the bookstore where Jenny works. Berg plays with these subterranean notions which such lines as, “For Jenny, someone might well padlock her future behind the wall, never to be revived.” A single boot that may or may not belong to Jenny’s kidnapped mother, a missing garage key, and that brooch whose history and provenance vex and confound are situated around a group of characters prone to lying and keeping their counsel at inconvenient intervals. That Jenny’s bookstore borders on Riddle Jewelry where sister Ruth works adds another layer of proximity to their sibling tensions.
Little wonder Jenny makes asides like, “Afraid my memory gets jittery.” Oh, the
revelations keep coming in a novel that subtly considers what is counterfeit
and what is genuine. Without giving too much away, the reader is guessing right
up to the final pages, where he discovers he’d been given sufficient clues all
along. He was just too wrapped up in the crazy family drama and the bizarre
combinations of romance and manipulation to center his pleasures on piecing
together the puzzle. Donan Berg has given us quite a yarn across a snowy lowan
landscape, one that keeps the reader involved and intrigued throughout.
All's Forgiven is available in paperback and e-book format at major book retailers. Click Purchase e-book here. Click
